Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently announced plans to unveil his company's highly-anticipated Model 3 electric sedan next spring after confirming its existence a year ago.
The budget-minded Model 3, which will be capable of traveling more than 200 miles on a single charge, is likely to be a pivotal turning point for Tesla. The company's current Model S starts at $69,000 while pre-orders for the Signature Series of its upcoming Model X SUV require a $40,000 deposit with pricing starting at $132,000.
The Model 3 will start at $35,000.
Production of Tesla's budget-friendly electric sedan is still about two years away, Musk revealed, adding that its Gigafactory needs to be fully operational first.
For those not up to speed (no pun intended), the Gigafactory is the name of the massive battery production facility that Tesla is currently building in Nevada with help from Panasonic. Once complete, the $5 billion facility will be the largest and most advanced of its kind in the world.
Tesla said it'll be capable of producing 50 gigawatt-hours of battery packs per year. That's enough to build half a million electric vehicles annually but perhaps more importantly for the local economy, it'll create 6,500 new jobs and have an economic impact of nearly $100 billion over the next 20 years.
The Model X, meanwhile, will roll into owners' garages starting September 29.